DesJarlais, Stewart to face off in 4th

Black defeats Zelenik in the 6th District

Aug. 3, 2012

DesJarlais

Written by

Chas Sisk

Gannett Tennessee

In one of the most anticipated races of the fall, U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, a first-term Republican, will face state Sen. Eric Stewart, a Democrat and insurance agency owner from Belvidere to represent the state’s 4th district, which now includes Rutherford County.

Republican U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais outraised Democratic state Sen. Eric Stewart by about $60,000 in the second quarter, bringing his total fundraising to nearly $1 million.

DesJarlais contended that Stewart's biggest contributors are trial lawyers and unions, which rely on “big-government policies that have helped pave the path to our nation's economic hardships.”

Stewart contends that DesJarlais “betrayed working-class families” with votes to alter Medicare, raise the Social Security retirement age to 70, and increase taxes on average working families by almost $1,000 a year, while backing tax breaks of $300,000 to millionaires.

6th District results

U.S. Rep. Diane Black defeated rival Lou Ann Zelenik to win the Republican nomination for the 6th Congressional District, in a race that could serve as a bellwether for the relationship between mainstream conservatives and tea party activists across Tennessee and the nation.

Zelenik started the race with a clear handicap. Redistricting removed fast-growing Rutherford County, where Zelenik had once served as party chair, from the 6th District. Those voters were replaced by a handful of rural counties, mainly on the Cumberland Plateau.

Black led Zelenik by a two-to-one margin with most precincts reported following a nasty campaign that one national commentator called “the craziest GOP House race of the year.” Zelenik conceded the race from her election night rally in Mt. Juliet shortly after 8:30 p.m.

The race rematched two candidates who had fought it out for the Republican nomination two years ago, only for Black to prevail by fewer than 300 votes